Texting is the channel with the highest read rates and the shortest patience. A customer who ignores three emails will unsubscribe after one badly timed text, and a text from an unknown number is discarded before it is read. The rules below are the ones that separate programmes people keep from programmes people report, and each has a plain-SMS version and an RCS version, because RCS business messages change how several of them are met.
1. Ask first, and say what you are signing them up for
Consent is the first rule of etiquette and the first rule of the TCPA. Ask explicitly, tell people what you will send and roughly how often, and mention that message and data rates may apply. A checkbox that is already ticked is not asking. How RCS consent works covers what counts and what to keep.
2. Say who you are in every message
On SMS that means the business name in the text, every time, because the number tells the customer nothing. On RCS the phone does it for you: a verified sender shows your name, logo and checkmark on every message, drawn from the approved record rather than typed in, which is the difference between a text that gets read and one that gets deleted as spam.
3. Keep business hours, in their time zone
The TCPA's window is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and etiquette is narrower than the law: a promotion at 8:05 a.m. is legal and unwelcome. Transactional messages the customer is waiting for (a delivery is at the door, a code they just requested) are the exception; a marketing message never is.
4. Be brief, specific and actionable
One message, one purpose, one thing to do. Name the appointment, the order, the offer; give the time, the amount, the deadline; then the action. On SMS that action is a keyword or a link. On RCS it is a button, and a message with a Confirm button gets confirmed where "reply Y" gets ignored. RCS messaging examples shows the same messages both ways.
5. Make stopping as easy as starting
Every marketing message carries a way out, STOP is honoured immediately and everywhere, and nobody is asked to log in to leave. On RCS the opt-out also sits in the agent's menu, so it is one tap away in every conversation. A customer who can leave easily is more likely to stay.
6. Do not send what you would not say aloud in a queue
No card numbers, no passwords, no health details, no balances beyond what the customer asked for. A payment prompt carries the amount and a button to a secure page, not the card (what RCS payments are); a medical reminder carries the time and the provider, not the condition (is RCS HIPAA compliant).
7. Reply when they reply
A text is a conversation, and a business that sends from a number nobody answers is being rude by design. Route replies to a person or a bot that can hand off to one, and say how long an answer will take. The two-way inbox exists for exactly this.
8. Do not repeat yourself
One reminder, one follow-up, and stop. If two messages did not get a response, a third will get an opt-out. Sequences that escalate (a reminder, then a reschedule offer, then a call) work; sequences that repeat do not.
9. Keep marketing and service apart
The message that says a package has shipped should never carry a coupon, and a customer who opts out of offers should keep getting their passcodes. On RCS that means separate agents for transactional and promotional traffic; on SMS it means separate campaigns. Mixing them is the fastest way to lose the consent you asked for in rule one.
Etiquette by message type
| Message | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment reminder | Name the time, place and provider; offer Confirm and Reschedule | Send it at 7 a.m.; ask for a call back |
| Delivery update | One message per real change of status, with the tracking action | A message per scan event |
| Promotion | Send under marketing consent, in hours, with an opt-out, at most a few times a month | Send to the service list; send daily |
| Fraud alert or passcode | Name the specifics; ask a yes-or-no question | Ask for a code, a password or a login link |
| Support reply | Answer the question, sign with a name, say what happens next | Send a ticket number and go quiet |
Frequently asked questions
Is it rude to text customers?
Not if they asked for it and you respect the terms they agreed to. Texting a customer who opted in, at a reasonable hour, about something they care about, with an easy way to stop, is the least intrusive channel they have. Texting one who did not opt in is both rude and, for marketing, illegal under the TCPA.
What hours are acceptable for business texting?
The legal window is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time zone. Good practice is narrower for marketing: mid-morning to early evening on weekdays, and nothing on Sunday mornings. Transactional messages the customer is expecting, such as a delivery arriving or a passcode they just requested, are sent when the event happens.
How often should a business text customers?
For marketing, a few times a month is the ceiling most lists tolerate, and the frequency you promised at opt-in is the one you keep. Transactional messages are sent when something happens and not otherwise. The signal to watch is the opt-out rate per send; when it climbs, you are texting too often or too generically.
Does texting etiquette change with RCS?
The rules are the same; several become easier to keep. The verified sender identifies you on every message without a word of copy, buttons replace "reply Y" and links, the opt-out lives in the conversation menu, and read receipts tell you whether a message landed before you send another. What does not change is consent, hours and frequency.